Pilot
Pilot is the first episode of Bette and Joan, the first season of the drama anthology series ''Feud'', and the first episode overall. It officially premiered on FX on March 5, 2017. Cast aside by Hollywood, screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis battle ageism, sexism and each other when they sign up to make What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?Feud: Bette and Joan - Episode 1.01 - Pilot - Press Release Plot The episode opens in 1978 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, where Olivia de Havilland is being interviewed for a documentary about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and giving a narration on their infamous feud that lasted for nearly half a century. Olivia explains that Joan Crawford's real name was Lucille LeSueur, and although she was raised in utter squalor, she grew up to be one of the greatest stars of all time. She goes on to say that Bette Davis was the single greatest actress Hollywood has ever known, playing all of the best roles with a ballsy intensity that no one else had. She says that although Bette and Joan had only made one film together, [[Wikipedia:What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film)|''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?]], their rivalry remained one of the most legendary of their generation. When asked by the interviewer why the two hated each other so much, Olivia clarifies that feuds are never about hate, but rather about pain. In 1961, Joan Crawford attends the annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, where Marilyn Monroe has just received an award for Best Actress. Joan seems disheartened by Monroe's win and goes out of her way to make rude comments about the actress to the rest of her table. As Monroe is giving her speech, Joan almost starts to tear up, upset by the realization that she is no longer Hollywood's "it-girl" and that her career is slowly starting to fade out. She ends up getting overly intoxicated that night and stumbles out in a drunken fit. Her date, Peter, kindly escorts her to her car and drives her home, but not before she is spotted by several members of the foreign press. The following morning, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper pays a visit to Joan's house to get her latest headline story. Joan's housekeeper, Mamacita, answers the door and tells Hedda that Joan is occupied, but Hedda is not willing to take no for an answer and asserts herself in regardless. Mamacita goes to alert Joan, and Joan is forced to interrupt her beauty regimen to get ready for Hedda. She then comes downstairs to greet the columnist, clearly annoyed that Hedda has shown up to her home unannounced. Hedda explains that she needs a quote from Joan about Marilyn Monroe's Golden Globe win, and if she doesn't get one, she will simply publish the story of how Joan left the Globes in a drunken tirade, amongst other circling rumors that Joan is becoming broke and struggling to pay her bills. Unwilling to have those stories get out, Joan gives Hedda what she wants and admits that the vulgarity of Monroe's clothing and pictures is ruining the industry that she loves. She goes on to say that people don't want Monroe in films, but rather more wholesome stars with good morals, such as herself. Hedda then takes a dig at Joan, clarifying that morals aren't the only difference between her and Monroe. Contrastingly, Monroe actually gets roles. Angered by Hedda's comment and eager to work in film again, Joan decides to visit Marty out of desperation for a new role. She slams her 1945 Best Actress Oscar on his desk and explains that she would like another one. She begs him to find her a great script, and he agrees to pile together everything he has and to send them to Joan to read until she finds a role she enjoys. However, all of the roles are for grandmother-type characters, which Joan finds unappealing and refuses to play. She is aching for a starring role, but Marty confesses that he sent her everything he has and that there's nothing more he can do, much to Joan's dismay. Joan then sends Mamacita to the library to get some books, so she brings home an assortment of titles with ladies on the cover to help Joan gather some ideas for a role. As Joan reads over the books, she is unsatisfied with most, as they tend to stereotype women into either of three categories: ingenues, mothers, or gorgons. However, one title in particular catches Joan's eye - Henry Farrell's suspense novel [[wikipedia:What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (novel)|''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?]], and she immediately sends the book over to film director Robert Aldrich. We later see Aldrich on the set of his upcoming film, ''Sodom and Gomorrah'', where he appears frustrated with his clumsy cast and crew members after shooting a particularly unsuccessful scene. His son, Bill, then informs Robert that he is needed in his office. There, his assistant, Pauline Jameson, notifies him that he has a call from Eva Braun, a women with whom Robert is clearly having an affair. After speaking with her on the phone, he explains to Pauline that Eva is interested in signing on to Sodom and Gomorrah, but he turns her down because he knows the film is a bust. He asks Pauline if they have any good scripts, and Pauline pulls out the Baby Jane book, explaining that this would be a great film opportunity. She states that it would be an easier production with one set and a small cast, enabling Robert to produce it himself. Robert seems intrigued with the idea, until Pauline shows him the carton of Pepsi Cola that came with the offer, making it clear that the sender of the package was someone he had conflicts with in the past: Joan Crawford. Robert immediately goes to visit Joan at her home to talk business. She explains that if Robert can satisfy her demands, they can make the picture together. Robert is still hesitant, given how difficult it was to work with Joan on the set of their previous film, ''Autumn Leaves'', in 1956. However, Joan insists that she can get the perfect co-star, Bette Davis, to play the title role, and ultimately Robert is convinced. Joan then goes to see ''The Night of Iguana'', a Broadway play starring Bette Davis, in order to convince her to join the film. Bette demonstrates a charming stage presence during the play, but as soon as the curtain closes, she turns off the character and reverts to her irritable demeanor, clearly unhappy with the way her career is going. Joan heads backstage to approach Bette in her dressing room, where she commends Bette for her performance and admits that the play should have gotten better reviews. Bette is noticeably impatient, so Joan cuts to the chase and tells Bette that she has found the perfect role for the two of them. Bette quickly rejects, but after explaining that good roles are not coming in for women their age and offering Bette the title role, Joan is able to convince the stubborn starlet to sign on to Baby Jane. Bette goes home that night and begins reading over the Baby Jane novel, before deciding to call Robert Aldrich and ask him about Joan's intentions. He explains that Crawford's name on the marquee will get them distribution, but that he needs Bette to make the picture great, as she is willing to take risks that no one else will. He goes on to say that they both need this film, as good offers aren't coming in for him either, and he promises that Baby Jane will be the greatest horror movie ever made. He assures her that she is much too big for Broadway and convinces her to ultimately quit stage acting and return to Hollywood where she belongs. After securing both Bette and Joan, Robert takes the film proposal to a studio executive, who gives it a green light, but not before suggesting that they go with younger actresses for the starring roles, which Robert abruptly shuts down. He then goes to speak with another executive, who contrastingly thinks that Bette and Joan are perfect for the film, but insists on shifting focus to the attractive neighbor role, even going so far as to tell the story from her point of view. Next, he goes to a third executive, who admits that Bette and Joan aren't the deal breaker for the film, but rather Bob himself, as Sodom and Gomorrah really plummeted his career. Desperate for any shred of acceptance, Robert goes to speak with one final person - Warner Bros President Jack Warner, with whom he already has a relationship. Jack laughs in Robert's face at first, unwilling to distribute a film with two older women who are no longer considered attractive by Hollywood standards. He also considers it disrespectful that Robert came to him as an absolute last resort, but Robert explains that it's fate, as Warner Bros was the studio where both Bette and Joan worked when they were still under contract. However, Jack insists that both women made his life a living hell and treated him as if he worked for them, not the other way around. They were always looking for more perks and questioning the material that Jack wanted them to do. He also says he was amazed by the ingratitude from the actresses, despite the fact that he has made them into the stars they are today. He explains that Bette even sued him in 1936 to get out of her contract, but Robert assures him that she only wanted to seek out better roles and control her own destiny. Jack doesn't care, and reveals that although he won the suit, Bette still caused the entire downfall of the studio contract system, and her current unemployment is simply his revenge. Robert then demands that Jack make his picture, and tells him that he needs Baby Jane, as television is beating out the film industry and all of his recent movies are bombs. Robert explains that he received funding from Seven Arts, but that he just needs Jack to release the film in his theaters. He tells Jack he can be the single largest profit participant and offers to pay him first, and since money is his favorite language, Jack ultimately agrees. Sometime thereafter, Bette and Joan are shown giving a press interview together to discuss their roles in Baby Jane and to publicly sign their contracts. The tension between the two is obvious, and is only furthered when Joan notices that Bette will be paid 600 more dollars in expenses per week than she will. As a result, she leaves in a tizzy without signing the contract. Aldrich notices this, and Joan tells him that the whole film project was her idea and that she deserves more. She explains that she cannot go off into this project immediately feeling resentment for her co-star, just because she is getting paid more. While Robert insists he will get it fixed, Joan clarifies that the issue is a matter of trust, rather than solely about the money. Nonetheless, she still demands to be paid $1,500 per week in order to move forward with the film. Guest Cast Special Guest Stars * Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia de Havilland * Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell Guest Stars * Kiernan Shipka as B. D. Hyman * Mark Valley as Gary Merrill * Reed Diamond as Peter * Ken Lerner as Marty * Joel Kelley Dauten as Adam Co-Stars * Raleigh Adams as Second Reporter * Robert Arce as Burned Out Executive * Kris Black as Cliff Robertson * Twink Caplan as Hairstylist * Lizz Carter as Margaret Leighton * Robert Catrini as Older Reporter * Collin Christopher as Bookstore Clerk * Thomas Crawford as Minister * Jim Deangelo as Dave * Kevin Fabian as Broadway Stage Manager * Paul Haitkin as Muscular Leading Man * Justin Hobson as Young Reporter * Doug Hurley as Photographer * Radek Wallace Lord as Young Delivery Man * Jason Lott as Young Studio Executive * James McCoy as Another Photographer * Billy Meade as Bill Aldrich * Frank Noon as Clapper * Donna Pieroni as Nonah * Jake Robards as Patrick O'Neal * Tony Rossi as Makeup Artist * Giuseppe Russo as DP Contini * Alisha Soper as Marilyn Monroe * Joe Souza as Studio Executive * Jon Morgan Woodward as Al Steele |} Reception The episode drew in 2.26 million live-plus-same-day viewers, which made it the most watched program on FX that week by a wide margin. While below the opening of Ryan’s pop culture phenom American Crime Story (5.1 million), it was in line with the premiere of the Emmy-winning FX limited series Fargo (2.66 million) and also edged the debuts of recent FX entries Taboo (1.8 million) and Legion (1.6 million). Pilot received widespread positive reviews among critics, with the episode having an average rating of 9.1/10 on IMDb, based on the votes of 245 users.Feud - Pilot Ratings | IMDb Jean Bentley of IGN praised the performances of Lange and Sarandon, stating, "Both Lange and Sarandon play their larger-than-life characters with both sympathy and the cold, calculating nature necessary to survive as a woman in a difficult industry." She went on to say that "The set design and costume design are both incredible, and truly flesh out the campy, candy-coated world. Feud is exciting and fun to watch, and the entire cast is clearly having a blast."FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN - "PILOT" REVIEW Gwen Ihnat of AV Club added that "This first episode of Feud is in itself a high bar of what TV is capable of: setting up its own, very specific, very stylized environment, even as it exposes new layers to characters we thought we know well."Feud’s premiere carefully crafts its Hollywood legends Poll How many stars would you give "Pilot"? 1 2 3 4 5 Trivia |-|Production Notes= * This episode was based in part on the script Best Actress by Jaffe Cohen and Michael Zam, which Ryan Murphy purchased. |-|Goofs= * Marilyn Monroe did not win a Golden Globe in 1961, but in 1960. * When being interviewed by Hedda at the beginning of the episode, Joan takes a long drag of her cigarette as she's standing by her piano. The frame then quickly pans out, but Joan is never shown blowing out the smoke that she just inhaled. * Joan Crawford did not make comments to Hedda Hopper about Monroe in 1961. Rather, she made them in 1953 to gossip columnist Bob Thomas in response to the skin-tight gold lamé dress Monroe wore at the 1953 Photoplay Awards, where Monroe won the "Fastest Rising Star" award. * The 1958 Chevrolet Impala convertible shows a front California license plate with a registration sticker on it. In 1962, as now, California plates do not display a registration sticker on the front plate, only the rear. |-|Cultural References= Multimedia Soundtrack |} Images |-|Episode Stills= Joan Ep Still.jpeg Joan Ep Still 2.jpeg Bette Ep Still.jpeg Hedda Ep Still.jpeg Jack Ep Still.jpeg |-|Behind the Scenes= BTS1.jpeg BTS2.jpeg BTS3.jpeg BTS4.jpeg BTS5.jpeg BTS6.jpeg BTS7.jpeg BTS8.jpeg BTS9.jpeg BTS10.jpeg BTS11.jpeg Jane Wigs.jpeg |-|Screencaps= |-|Episode Gifs= BrokenHeartTitle.gif OhMarilyn.gif BestFriends.gif NeverAgain.gif BetteTheDiva.gif Videos Stars Feud Season 1 Promo FX Strut FEUD Bette and Joan Season 1 Promo FX Ambush FEUD Bette and Joan Season 1 Promo FX Faster FEUD Bette and Joan Season 1 Promo FX Lemon Makeup FEUD Bette and Joan Season 1 Promo FX References Navigation Category:Episodes Category:Aired Episodes Category:Bette and Joan Episodes